All chefs are cooks but not all cooks are chefs.
Won't finish this puzzle. the clue "where a cat may be picked up" infuriated me. Mother cats pick their kittens up by the neck when they are tiny. They know what they are doing. It's never a good idea for a human to pick a cat up by the neck. Irresponsible!! Do better!!
1
@Gina agree
I thought back to this puzzle after reading "The Onion" this morning. :)
"Sacramento Pledges To Power Arena With 100% Windmill Dunk Energy By 2030"
https://sports.theonion.com/sacramento-pledges-to-power-arena-with-100-windmill-du-1839816176
OT:
Bei Bei is going to China, as per the original agreement.
So happy that all this happened, so sorry to see it end.
https://nationalzoo.si.edu/events/bye-bye-bei-bei
1
Late comment, plus I've said most of what I had to say in replies to others.
Didn't see the theme until the revealer, which sorta added to the solve.
As always, I started at 1A and moved across and down and through, so by the time I got to 24A, it was my second themer and I already had POOL SHARK as the first.
Okay.
My first thought from the clue was that the entry would start with WILD. Didn't see the error until I went back and saw the gimme NENE at 25D.
But then I worked my way across, and with some help from the SEA TURTLES (great entry!), got most of NE.
By that time I had figured out (thanks to the Hawaiian goose) that it wasn't WILDanything but was WINDMILL, all I had to do was figure out the end of 24D. So of course, I thought something to do with basketball could easily be a "duck."
It didn't take a really long time to figure out that that was wrong, and I-PH0NE CASE was a legit entry, and I'd heard something basketbally about DUNK somewhere, so I got it.
Other than that, no problems. Loved the down longies -- a good bonus for a Monday, which can sometimes be lacking.
Love the photo with the column.
Thanks to all.
1
Unless I missed it, nobody mentioned Bobby Sherman’s acting role as the stuttering youngest brother on the 60s TV show “Here Come the Brides”. After the opening theme song lyrics about the bluest skies you’ll ever see being in Seattle, the story dealt with a bunch of male lumberjacks and an opportunistic sea captain who arranged to bring a bunch of single women to join the men. It seemed dumb to me, but perhaps this middle schooler at the time was not equipped to appreciate its subtlety and deep social commentary.
- Tom
6
My five favorite clues from last week
(In order of appearance):
1. Lacking a compass, maybe (6)
2. Swimmer with big calves (4)
3. Half-assed sort? (4)
4. Matter of great interest for the United States (4)
5. Take a pointer? (6)
AMORAL
ORCA
MULE
DEBT
DOGNAP
6
My five favorite clues from last week
(In order of appearance):
1. Lacking a compass, maybe (6)
2. Swimmer with big calves (4)
3. Half-a**ed sort? (4)
4. Matter of great interest for the United States (4)
5. Take a pointer? (6)
AMORAL
ORCA
MULE
DEBT
DOGNAP
(Sorry about the asterisks; emus didn't accept the actual puzzle clue.)
10
And I apologize in advance if the original post shows up later.
1
@Lewis
Eh! My bad -- just pushed it through without looking to see if you got past the defense :-)
1
@Caitlin & Lewis
Anything good is worth repeating.
4
Might as well get the week started with a nit pick: isn't 9D more correctly written as "an ewe"?
And I'll follow this with a semiquibble: anent 54D, shouldn't it be in km ?
Finally, as I'm not much of a dancer (two left feet) -- how do you dance to 69A?
@Dr W
A/an choice is dependent on the beginning sound of a word. Even though "ewe" begins with a vowel, it does not begin with a vowel sound. Just as "hour" begins with a consonant letter but not a consonant sound, so we say "an hour" rather than "a hour".
7
@Dr W
There's nothing amiss about the RHINE clue. And as you know, amiss is as good as a mile.
2
@Bess
Ummmm ....
How does the start of "ewe" sound if it's not the sound of a vowel?
And while I'm thinking of it, suppose I point to the first letter of, say, USA, and ask what it is, my answer would be "a U".
I would claim "U" and "ewe" do not sound the same.
@Steve L
I can count on you for a groaner... :-)
I'll let another speak for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1tqtvxG8O4
1
David,
In Flanders Fields brings tears to my eyes, but...
As with many of the most popular works of the First World War, it was written early in the conflict, before the romanticism of war turned to bitterness and disillusion for soldiers and civilians alike.[12]
Prescott, John F. (1985), In Flanders Fields: The Story of John McCrae, Erin, Ontario: Boston Mills Press, ISBN 0-919783-07-4
2
Sorry, Barry, but you are full of military.
The death of every single person in that war - every death - was unmerited, unjustifiable, unjustified, inhuman, inhumane.
Poems are awful nice. Worshipping people who died while "just following orders" - that's for other people today, not for me. Lots of other people, yep, that's obvious. Not me.
Not following orders gets you in trouble with the military. On the other hand, it gets you into heaven.
2
David,
I'm not sure you actually read my comment, but if you did, you misunderstood it.
Peace.
7
Brilliant clue,"What makes a ewe turn?" for BAA! Interesting and active reveal in THINK TANK. Tight, creative theme.
What more can you want on a Monday?
Thank you, Evan Kalish!
4
The clues in this one were so mindlessly on-the-nose that I made a note of the three that weren't: RAM (9D); ADAM (41D); and BAKER (51D). In fact, one of them gave me trouble: For "what makes a ewe turn", I wrote down RAM instead of BAA. Both cute answers, I'd maintain.
I'm not sure what a WINDMILL DUNK is, but it sounds...athletic. Other than what I've cited above, I found both the theme and execution pretty YUCCA.
What’s wrong with me? Yesterday I got hung up on TAT & today I couldn’t think of PRO or EGO . . . I’ve got some 3-letter writer’s block. (It wasn’t just TAT. Finished Sunday this morning.)
2
@Mae
Coraggio ...... a lot of us have been there too.
BOBBY'S HERMAN confused me -- I was looking for DARIN.
SKEWS me, but so many questions, so little time...
*First of all: LAWNS Guy Land HALinNY, R U out there?
*Was crossing CHEST and CYSTIC fibrosis on purpose?
*Why is it called a TRAMPOLINE instead of a BOUNCE- or JUMPOLINE?
*When the 54D is in flood, is that a RHINEorrhea?
*Is it true that a Boer RUES Veldt?
*Is it true that ALGAL and Molly BLOOM are related?
*Did anyone notice that the COOKS give us an O2 TANK, in case we were getting breathless toward the end?
*D'you know what makes an NY ewe turn? An SC RAM
*Lastly, has anyone else heard of the new way to SKI called the SCRUM schuss.
I think this THINK TANK MonPuzz was also SCRUMschuss
Kalish chips, for people who want to ease into health food.
9
@Leapfinger
I miss HAL.
2
@Leapfinger
Solidly on your game this morning!
1
@Leapy
I'll have what you're drinking!
2
I had BOUT at 28D and had to wrestle with that error for longer than I care to admit. Couple that with my miss at 62D (I had SWI for Switzerland’s always solid teams in the winter games) and the lower western half of my grid was TANKed.
I finally got a solve but I had to THINK a lot harder than usual for a Monday.
1
"...I had to THINK a lot harder than usual for a Monday."
Will L.,
I THINK Will S. selects slightly harder than usual Monday puzzles for holiday Mondays...
There is a lot of angst today from cat lovers concerning 33A. I count myself as a cat lover, but in defence of the clue, "where a cat may be picked up", a mother cat does pick up her kittens by the NAPE so it *may* happen. I did not feel that I was being encouraged to do so. I might have felt more comfortable if the clue had replaced the word "cat" with "kitten", but on the whole, I thought it was a fair clue.
3
@Andrew
I guess some people interpreted MAY BE an endorsement or permission: The presents MAY BE opened now... Ice cream MAY BE placed on top of the pie.
...Instead of "is/are possibly": Sorry, I haven't seen you in a long time, so the presents MAY BE the wrong size. Or the pie MAY not BE the kind you like.
Steve,
You're not keeping up. A conditional "may be" is no longer accepted as mitigation of the potential harm to anyone of anything.
@Steve L
You MAY BE right. (I MAY BE crazy).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo9t5XK0FhA
It seems though that a vet (veterinarian, I mean...) has weighed in, endorsing picking up a cat by the scruff of the neck. I will bow out now.
2
Completed the center cluster of the top group (4D -> 8D) first.
Plugged in YARDS rather than LAWNS on 18D
Jumped to BABY SHARK before checking the crosses.
doo doo doo doo doo doo
3
Ooops! I forgot to offer some suggestions for relieving Mr. Kalish’s angst about TEAR GAS.
One might be “Where you are when you have too many deadlines” - - - or IN HOT WATER.
Or
Fuel used to heat many rural homes” - - LIQUID PROPANE.
I’d like to figure out how to clue OXY ACETYLENE - - - but that would probably be too much of a stretch.
I was disappointed to see the clue referring to picking up a cat by the nape of the neck. The first time I heard it wasn't good for a cat was in the late 60s or early 70s -- fifty years ago.
1
But has anyone told all the mother cats??
14
BOBBY SHERMAN was a big tween idol in the genre of Bubble Gum when I was young. I was a rebel and preferred Mickey Dolenz from The Monkees.
2
Recently saw Mickey Dolenz perform with a tour that also included Todd Rundgren and Joey Molland of Badfinger.
2
TANKs a lot to our constructor for this clever puzzle. It was actually on the tough side for me for a Monday. A couple of unknowns (as clued) and a few other things that took some work. I remember BOBBYSHERMAN but realize that I couldn't have named a single song by him and had to get that from the crosses.
I was also briefly off in a different 'direction' with the reveal clue and it took some pondering before that light went on.
'TEAR' GAS is certainly understated terminology. We had to go through two different drills in training involving exposure to it. One was walking through an enclosed room with tear gas in the air. It was unpleasant but in retrospect I'm pretty sure that it was fairly dilute. Don't recall if that test was in Basic or Infantry training, but I know the second one was in the latter: In that one we were in prone positions emulating a combat situation. They tossed out tear gas grenades and we were supposed to get out our gas masks and put them on while remaining completely prone. One of the grenades landed about 3 feet from my head. That was an extremely unpleasant experience. Nasty stuff.
And I'll close with this old favorite from the same era:
Oh, where were you in Chicago?
You know I didn't see you there.
I didn't see them break your head,
or breathe the TEAR GAS air.
Oh, where were you in Chicago,
when the fight was being fought?
Oh where were you in Chicago?
'cause I was in Detroit.
5
Rich,
"Happy" Veterans Day. Your TEAR GAS memories brought tears to my eyes. Our routine in Basic was slightly different. The squad put on "protective" masks then went into a room filled with tear gas, so we could understand that (if properly fitted) the masks would protect us. Then, one by one, we took off the masks and yelled our name, rand and service number to the (masked) instructor -- to be sure we each got a good taste of gas -- before dashing outside to fresh air.
4
[rank, not rand]
1
@Barry Ancona I think my memory is just scanty. When I first tried to remember that I kind of thought that maybe we had our masks on at some point, and now that you've mentioned it, I do remember having to stop and just stand there at some point. I just don't remember all the details.
I'm guessing that my experience was most likely the same as yours.
A very solid “Solve” this morning. Might have been a new PB except:
1. I entered ALGAe BLOOM for 30D
2. I hadn’t bothered to make sense out of the theme yet and guessed at BOBBY SHEehAN for 51A.
Had to figure out that there’s no river named the hHINE or a person/thing named ADAh - - or that a PeANE ain’t a flat surface.
Howcum these mistakes never to seem to occur in the very TOP of the puzzle - - where I can find them more quickly🤨
Enjoyed having ASAHI, ENOKI and OMANI in the same puzzle. Coincidence?
My second 35mm FILM camera (early 60’s) was an ASAHI Pentax - branded a Honeywell Pentax in the US - which I purchased from a fellow MSU student of Japanese origins. Still have it. Waiting for it to develop “antique” value. Hmmmm? Ya think??
3
Very entertaining Monday puzzle, the theme was beautiful! I've got a smile on my face to start the work day, that's for sure.
4
@kit
TAKEAKNEE on Veteran’s Day is very American. Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of democracy. Someone taking a knee quietly, respectfully during our anthem to protest a very real issue is about the most American action there is. I say that as a disabled veteran, the daughter of a veteran and the mother of an active duty US Army paratrooper. Unlike this current president and his family, many members of my family served. None of us has a problem with TAKEAKNEE.
Happy Veterans Day 🇺🇸
79
@Pani Korunova
Couldn’t agree with you any more strongly!
There are too many veterans without a spare (or any) knee to take. I’d like to see all members of a football team - including coaches and others - “take the knee” to protest the current president and his actions.
Thank you for your - and your family’s - service. I wish there were a way to repay it.
11
@Pani Korunova
Thank you and your entire family for your service.
Happy Veteran's Day!
5
Nothing makes you feel old quite like seeing the clue "*1960s-'70s teen idol with the hit "Julie, Do Ya Love Me", and immediately keying in BOBBY SHERMAN (while singing the chorus in my head), only to find Rex P., Caitlin, and several others say "BOBBY Who??". *Sigh*
Fun grid by Evan today with just a bit of crunch. I liked the theme. I thought that the theme phrases were all fun and the fill pretty clean.
Thanks Evan, Will and team, and Caitlin!
9
@Steve Faiella
I'm from a younger generation (born in '85), and I only knew of Bobby Sherman because, on the Simpsons, Lisa makes fun of Marge for having a crush on him when the latter was a young girl.
3
Today is Veterans Day. The theme should have been related somehow. Really!
and to add "take a knee" on this day is kind of unwoke.
2
@kit
""take a knee" on this day is kind of unwoke"
Except that Veterans fought and died to protect our freedom to do so.
42
@kit
Taking a knee to protest police violence is unrelated to honoring veterans.
31
@kit Agree 100%. Have to bring in Trump, Kapernick and the deeper meaning. Too hard to just give them their day and say thanks.
3
We have a cute theme with an original feel -- I don't remember "THINK" being used this way in a reveal before. We have an overall junk-free grid, eight K's for a Scrabbly feel, plus we have two lovely question-mark clues (for ADAM and BAA) to introduce newer solvers to that concept. IMO, what we have here is an excellent Monday-level puzzle, one I enjoyed doing. Nice work, and thank you, Evan!
10
Those black blurs (collies) are hard-working puppers indeed. There appears to be a rogue sheep making a break for it but is being properly hounded, soon to be hemmed back to the flock...I encountered one fork in the road, nene/NAPE...Other than that, I solved powerfully; as if there was a tiger in my TANK!...Okay Boomers, this clip might server as a reminder for you to respect ❤️ your elders. It’s Mick’s “War Baby,” from his Primitive Cool solo effort.
https://youtu.be/7t9qDQ1Qu3s
Thanks Vets,
Bru
5
@brutus
BORDER collies, Bru! :-)
Regular collies are just typical lazy dogs... LOL
@Steve Faiella
@Brutus was simply repeating the description from the picture's caption.
According to Wikipedia, "collies form a distinctive type of herding dogs", so I am not sure that there is any error in referring to the dogs in that manner.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collie
@Andrew
Trust me, there is a huge difference. Ask anyone who has had a Border Collie. They are a breed into themselves. The picture's caption and Wikipedia (which I wholeheartedly support - monitarily) missed the boat on this one. :)
Did nobody have RHONE before RHINE? As I have since discovered, it is only 505 miles and not 760 miles, but was I really supposed to know that? And on a Monday? ;-)
Other this before thats: CAFE before NAPE. (I picked up both my cats at a CAFE). KIRIN before ASAHI. (Beer me!) BOOTH before KIOSK. (Too many Ks methinks...).
ALGAL BLOOM made me want to do a EWW turn!
5
@Andrew
Hands up for RHoNE first. Until THoNK TANK showed up... :)
2
Re: Rhine/Rhone
I look for a good river crossing.
1
@Steve Faiella
THINK, THANK, THONK... :-)
2
Some super easy entries balanced by trickier ones make for an interesting Monday puzzle. I certainly didn't get the theme until the reveal. DUNK TANK was new to me and I didn't notice that the GAS TANK clue had an asterisk. I was past my teens in the 60's so didn't know the idol, so needed all the crosses.
Good start to the week.
4
@suejean
Also got the theme with the reveal. I always picture a DUNK TANK at a carnival where, if you throw the projectile and hit the lever, the seat of the person sitting over the tank swings down and the person falls into the tank of water! Not a fan of the idol, but knew the name, eventually. ASAHI and ENOKI were gimmes for me and I expect you too and others who lived in Japan. A wheelhouse thing.
1
LETTER BOXED
R-H(7), H-R(7)
2
@Andrew
I have:
W-R(7), R-M(7)
2
@Andrew
I went long with O-D (10) D-C (6).
@Mari
How elemental! I tried a couple of similar ending words to no avail before my time limit expired. Good find.
1
SPELLING BEE GRID
Nov 11th 2019
L C D I T U Y
WORDS: 33, POINTS: 149, PANAGRAMS: 2
C x 5
D x 7
I x 8
L x 9
T x 3
U x 1
4L x 14
5L x 6
6L x 5
7L x 5
8L x 1
9L x 2
4 5 6 7 8 9 Tot
C 2 - 3 - - - 5
D 3 2 1 - - 1 7
I 3 2 - 2 - 1 8
L 4 2 - 2 1 - 9
T 2 - 1 - - - 3
U - - - 1 - - 1
Tot 14 6 5 5 1 2 33
45
@Mari a lot of obscure words, especially adverbs with -ly or -ily etc. There’s an adjective of a religious sect, the ability to bend metals, 2 spellings of a happy situation or poem, allowed and forbidden (the more common word). Just try adding an ending to a word. Some word, some don’t.
11
@Kevin Davis that should be some WORK, some don’t.
@Mari 16 of today's 33 words end in 'Y', 13 in 'LY', 3 in 'TY'. The 'IC' suffix appears 3 times.
A fairly boring solution set, which I didn't enjoy solving today.
3 words appear which concern a happy and peaceful state - 2 of the words are alternative spellings of the same thing. The Panagrams concern (1) clarity and light and (2) stretchiness.
8
I'm glad I'm not the only one who originally wrote RAM for 9D! As a Florida native, I've sadly read a lot about ALGAL BLOOM[s], so that was my first guess. I did consider that it could go either way, though. Overall a fun Monday puzzle!
3
Great puzzle! Tanks for the memories!
5
I bet many finished this in two or three minutes. I typed as fast as my computer would let me see what I was typing, and the only place I had to stop and think was 28 down because I thought maybe what one bought at a newsstand was a rAG (I thought it might be slang for a cheap newspaper; ENOKI and ASAHI rolled right off my fingers), but it still took me 13 minutes.
2
I've been doing NYT crossword puzzles for around 12 months now and I was delighted to go straight through this Monday offering in 16 minutes which easily smashes my best time. I guess I just knew the "harder' clues this week.
5
@Max Walsh Good job! Keep it up.
2
and Elke posted Nov.11 2019
It is called Veterans Day in the US, but here and the rest of the British world , it is Remembrance Day, aka "Poppy Day".
The SHERMAN TANK is in the puzzle, but it had not yet been invented when John McCrae wrote his poem"In Flanders Fields:"
"In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses,row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks. still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
in Flanders fields."
John McCrae (1872-1918) Canadian poet and physician
Many (most) Canadians (of a certain age ) can recite this poem, even those having lived in exile (Durham e.g.) for decades.
The Canada mint issues each year (general distribution) an commemorative coin. The ones with a red poppy are specially nice. Decades ago we had a 10.- bill with the poem printed on it.
OK- those Canadians of a "certain age" needed a MAGnifying glass.
Anyway, we remember those Veterans and are grateful for their sacrifice.
17
@Robert and Elke
In keeping with the puzzle's theme, many TANKS for this!
I guess I am a Canadian of a certain age who learned this by heart in elementary school. If I may add the middle verse:
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
(And the complete final verse)
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
in Flanders fields."
6
@Robert and Elke,
There are some of us south of the border (the Canadian border) who still remember Armistice day and Flanders Fields. And it seems not so long ago that wearing poppies on that day was common here.
I still think of it primarily as the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
4
@Andrew
As a non-Canadian “of a certain age”, I too have this one memorized and was about to dash off a combination addition/correction.
It’s strange that my most vivid memory of Remembrance Day was from being in London and seeing Veterans and citizenry virtually ALL wearing poppies in their lapels - and impressive displays of the names of the fallen erected near the Houses of Parliament. Somehow, it was more stirring than any of our parades.
2
In the WINDMILLs of my mind, I remember that , in my youth, I was able to do that WINDMILL DUNK HOOP SHOT
1
My favorite thing in the photo of the two dogs herding the large number of sheep is the little sheep in the upper right who's had enough of being good and decided to go off on its own. It looks like the dogs are headed to cut off its escape, but maybe it'll outsmart them.
5
I expected Deadline or some other prominent animal person to weigh in on 33A. I've always understood that only mother cats should pick up kittens by the NAPE, that we humans should not try it, and certainly not on older cats. Of course the clue doesn't exactly say who is doing the picking up, Our Mitzi is a small cat, but she would certainly contain her enthusiasm if we tried to pick her up that way.
7
@Wags
I don't know who Deadline is, but I was as angry to see a clue advocating picking a cat up by its neck as Deb Amlen was at a non-condemnatory clue about Leni Riefenstahl a while back.
3
@Wags, I’m afraid whoever told you that was wrong. In fact, most cats (possibly excepting Mitzi,) reflexively hang loose, like a big kitten, and accept handling when picked up gently by the scruff. It’s very useful too, when the cat’s owner isn’t being very helpful. If handling is required, let’s say for a thorough examination, it’s often the best, and safest, way for all, including the cat.
8
@Wags ,
As @DoggyDoc (a vet of the animal rather than today's sort?) says, it's an acceptable way to pick up a cat, especially if you support most of their weight with a hand under their rump. It's something I would only do in an emergency, but I did it earlier this year: rescued an indoor-only cat from my ditch, she went ballistic when we were near the street, I couldn't risk her getting into traffic/biting me/running off again. Even after she was calm and away from traffic I kept one hand on her NAPE (scruff) until she was safely back with her owner, my neighbor.
I learned this hold working in a vet clinic years ago. it's actually one of the gentlest restraints. (Doesn't work on maybe 10% of cats, but that's another matter.)
4
Like ALL y'all, I had ALGAe at first, till PeANE made no sense. ENOKI always get stuck in my teeth, but a swig of ASAHI takes care of that. I have not thought of BOBBY SHERMAN since probably 3rd grade, when I knew I was supposed to find him dreamy, like Davy Jones and David Cassidy. (I see that Peter Noone (no one?) is performing at a nearby venue soon. Good god!) Tiger Beat MAG was most of my allowance, when they remembered to give it, so my bff and I would share it occasionally. Fun little Monday.
3
@ann
Oooooh David Cassidy! For me it was Andy Gibb—just a few years after David. He was soooo dreamy... and so tragic...
2
@Ann
Just found out (via Wikipedia; didn't really have the time to track down original sources, Barry, so take it all with a grain of suspicion) that BOBBYSHERMAN quit the teen idol life and became an EMT & worked with the LAPD in the later 70's. He was aware that he had received many blessings and wanted to "give back." He and his wife run a children's foundation from which they have apparently NOT stolen money; how refreshing!
5
ADAM was my favorite, too. Clever! A little crunchier than the average Monday, and fun. TIL about a WINDMILL DUNK. Pretty fancy move. Coincidentally, I played in a Simon and Garfunkel themed concert today.
3
First person narrative foresooth!!!
😂
4
Other than the ALGAe/ALGAL issue and bout before SUMO, no problemo with this zippy Monday puzzle. Then thanks to Caitlin, I fell down a Color of Money rabbit hole. I'd forgotten it was directed by Martin Scorsese.
4
Nice write-up once again, Caitlin. You said everything I would have, and more. How can anyone not love a puzzle with SEA TURTLES and TRAMPOLINEs? Here’s the band Over The RHINE with “Ohio,” which is where they are from and unfortunately the name of a river experiencing ALGAL BLOOMs:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OIcuS4YyBxQ
https://wfpl.org/drought-driving-toxic-algal-blooms-along-ohio-river/
3
I’m trying (as of now) to expand my musical links. So, tonight I went on a musical journey to OMAN, whose music combines elements of Arabic, Indian, and African. I like what I’ve heard. Here’s Asma Mohammad Rafi with a song celebrating OMANi women:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_21AuNR_CxA
2
@Puzzlemucker
LOVE OTR! I saw them in a small club several years ago. It's a dinner and a show type venue, and we sat close enough to the stage to be able to touch them (we didn't, of course!). I love Karin Bergquist's voice. It's smokey and smooth and just plain beautiful. My favorite of their albums is probably "Films for Radio", but I really like "Ohio" (the album and the song) a lot too.
Off to listen to them now... Thanks PM! :)
2
Even though you couldn't tell Paul Newman's "baby blues" were blue in the black and white movie "The Hustler", he might have RACKED up an Oscar as "Fast Eddie", although Maximilian Schell was also deserving. I suppose it was poetic justice that he received it for " The Color of Money"
4
@ColoradoZ
Speaking of dreamy!
1
@Ann
Thank you. Oh, you probably meant Paul
8
@CZ - why discount Max Schell?
woof!
sweet dreams
2
Because of the highlighting effect, for a moment I thought there was a Bobby Sherman think tank. But then I thought, what on earth would they be thinking about?
11
@Queenie , Haaa!
2
@Queenie
Perhaps they're thinking about whether Julie loves him or not... ;-)
1
I never got the theme so had to read about it—I still don’t get what is meant by “read as a direction”—kept trying to find the cardinal directions somehow. But the downs got me through.
Read "think" as an imperative verb, giving an instruction (or direction)
1
@Shadow. The verb think and the noun tank. So think about adding the word tank to the end of each starred clue.
@Shadow The wording of the revealer seemed a bit awkward to me.
1
A nice Monday puzzle, full of interesting words and with a theme I didn't suss out until the end. And SEA TURTLES!
I looked at a list of Bobby Sherman's songs on Wikipedia, and "Julie, do ya love me?" is definitely the only one I remember from the title. Although once I listened to a little bit of "Little woman" I remembered it, too. Everything seems to be a 50th anniversary of something this year.
1
“External peristalsis” as a rugby maneuver takes the cake for me today. It describes perfectly — and hilariously— what happens to the ball inside that crush of bodies.
Out of curiosity, I googled to see whether anyone else had coined the term to describe other phenomena. Per Urban Dictionary, it’s the, “act of moving the chips in the bag without actually touching them.” I like that one, too.
6
Evan, EWE joker... that was so BAAd it was great!
3
@Mike R As much as I'd love to assume credit for such an atrocious pun, you'll have to thank the editors for that one. My clue was much more tame, though now I can't stop thinking I should've gone with, "I'm bleating! I'm bleating!"
16
@Mike R
I thought a RAM would cause a ewe to turn before a BAA....
6
@BK
Me, too, RAM, and because the A was correct, it took me a double-think to get it right.
1
Quick Monday, though it didn’t seem so at first. For some reason, the acrosses were tough for me but the downs simple. I almost filled in the whole puzzle on the down pass.
I imagine like I did many will at first have ALGAEBLOOM rather than ALGALBLOOM.
A little off topic, but ALGAEBLOOM made the papers today. If you have a minute, read the LA Times piece on the Marshall Islands published this morning. It is ridiculously great investigative journalism on a topic I would venture to guess not many know about (for if you did, you would want something done about it). Pulitzer worthy, in my view.
6
I should mention that ALGAEBLOOM is a tiny part of the story. It’s just what connected the puzzle to the article.
@Mr. Mark
This looks like the story you're talking about. Posting the link so the next person doesn't have to go looking --
https://www.latimes.com/projects/marshall-islands-nuclear-testing-sea-level-rise/
1
Sorry - I guess because I can’t click links in crosswords comments, I didn’t think to post one. That’s the one. Thank you.
Agreed with Caitlin, ENOKI and ASAHI might be a bit tricky. ALGAL BLOOM? I was thinking ALGAE BLOOM. Not sure how they say it on the news. That SW corner well represented by KIX. BOBBY SHERMAN was unknown to me. And it's also the one theme entry with two syllable second part that comes before the tank. Woulda been nicer if they were all one syllable instead, but that's just picking nits.
Those long columns side-by-side were nice and not hard to get. Can be a real EGO booster for the beginners.
A recent phenom known for his WINDMILL DUNK - Zion Williamson - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us9aiOx3Oog
2
@Wen
Many news outlets refer to ALGAe BLOOM vs. ALGAL BLOOM. Growing usage of the former, notwithstanding, only the latter is grammatically correct.
Well, unless one is using BLOOM as a a verb.
4
@Sam Lyons
So you’re saying a plural noun used adjectivally is grammatically incorrect? And you’re saying this on Veterans Day?
@Sam Lyons
Sadly, I have recent experience with ALGAL BLOOM -- 18,800 gallons of sewage into neighborhood creek and lakes. Pee-uuu! Makes it hard to get wrong!
1
No, Caitlin, Monday grids are not getting harder. This one was a breeze, but also a pleasure.
I had the vaguest recollection of Bobby Sherman, one of the blandest pop stars of my childhood, so I filled that in fast. I can see that being a stumper for the younger set. That said, I can't remember a song he sung. I'm okay with that!
5
Easy Come, Easy Go. Kinda like this puzzle.
2
@Liane I thought Bobby Sherman was hot. He was a regular on on Shindig.
@Liane you don't remember him in that goofy series Here Come the Brides? With a pre-Starsky & Hutch David Soul as well?
https://youtu.be/iwQRUsh1CfY